I’ve been feeling . . . like I should wear a shirt that reads, “CONTENTS ARE FRAGILE,” and actually that we should all wear that shirt, so that we can all remember to be kind to each other, because life can be so hard, and we’re only here for a little while.

Remember what all the holidays this time of year are about. It’s the rebirth of the light, the return of the Sun, however you spell it. In the depths of winter’s darkness, on the longest night of the year, the wheel turns and the next day there will be just a little more light, and a little less darkness. That’s what’s its all about, lighting a candle in the dark, and trusting that the planets will turn, the universe will move, and tomorrow there will be just a little more sun to light our way.

[I]t's nearly December! What happened to July? Did we even have a July? I don't remember, which raises an interesting question: Is the year nearly empty or is it nearly full? Do we start with a full year and empty it out or do we start with an empty year and fill it up?

Life is not designed with anyone's happiness in mind, and it has the disconcerting habit of not rewarding the good as much as we'd expect, of punishing the wicked less vigorously than we'd like, and even, on occasion, of getting the two completely mixed up.

We have both always worked from home together and it has always worked for us. The upside to this scenario has been that we get to eat lunch together in our jammies and grope each other when we pass in the hallway - both of which are frowned upon in a regular office.